After receiving many an invitation, I finally opened an account at Goodreads. I had nothing against opening an account there – I read a lot and I like to have a place to list my books online. But I already had an account with Anobii and didn’t want to multiply the accounts. But since many friends were on Goodreads and Anobii had been a little disappointing lately… Goodreads had me at hello… create a free account.

Then what? What’s the link with the book review announced in the title of this post? Let’s keep a long, off-topic story short: I noticed that Goodreads had giveaways of review copies of books that were released. I entered for a couple of books I was interested in and was the lucky winner of a copy of “True Food: Seasonal, Sustainable, Simple, Pure” by Andrew Weil, Sam Fox, Michael Stebner, and published by Little, Brown and Company.

My mother has long been a fan of Dr. Andrew Weil. I was hence eager to discover this recipe book with such a colorful, yummy bowl on the cover.
On the other hand, I was a little concerned that “true food” could mean, like it sometimes is these days in recipe books, difficult-to-find ingredients used in complicated recipes.

This book of recipes and its title did not come out of the blue: they are inspired by or part of the menu of the True Food Kitchen, a restaurant founded by the authors. Here is a quote from the restaurant’s website:

You don’t have to be a die-hard Yogi to dine at True Food Kitchen. You need only a desire to give your body nutrients, and your palate something memorable. The basis for Dr. Andrew Weil’s anti-inflammatory diet isn’t meant to deprive a healthy body of great flavors, it’s meant to take popular trends in cuisine and pair them with healthy living. Try the kale and quinoa, you’ll live longer. Drink the seabuckthorn and acai, you’ll feel better. At True Food Kitchen, we want you to feel better, live longer, and make your mouth happy in the process.

This is a beautiful, 200+ pages, cooking book, full of colored pictures of the recipes. I also liked the matt paper used. As opposed to glossy paper, you won’t get traces of fingerprints on it. Plus it gives a somehow vintage look to it.

The book is divided into ten recipe sections from “Breakfast,” to “Soups & Chilis,” to “Vegetables,” to “Desserts” and “Basics.” The “Basics” section includes recipes of vinaigrettes, sauces or stocks used in other recipes of the book. The book also starts with an introduction in form of an interview of the three authors: “The Doctor, the Chef, and the Restaurateur.” Finally, a very useful “True Food Pantry” section lists food that may be new to some readers. Very practical.

I wanted to try several recipes before writing the review. I more or less picked them here and there in the book rather than choosing them. They were all easy to prepare and never necessitated a huge amount of time in the kitchen. All recipes also turned out delicious (more than simply good) and nutritious. I especially loved the salads (add me to the list of raw kale salad fans!).

I was slightly disappointed by the two desserts I tried though, finding them good but almost difficult to digest. My husband liked them very much though so it might be only me!

If I had a 1-to-5 rating scale, I would give it a firm 4.

Kale Salad

Kale Salad

Roasted Butternut Squash, Apple, and Pomegranate Salad

Roasted Butternut Squash, Apple, and Pomegranate Salad

Roasted Butternut Squash, Apple, and Pomegranate Salad

Bison Chili

Bison Chili

Miso-Marinated Black Cod

Miso-Marinated Black Cod

Chocolate Icebox Tart

Chocolate Pudding

Chocolate Pudding

Now if you would excuse me, I have some more recipes from the book I would like to try A.S.A.P. ;-)

***Disclaimer: I received the book for free thanks to Goodreads First Reads. This review is my opinion only and receiving the book did not influence it. Pictures are pictures I took myself of the book and of recipes I tried from the book.***

The chocolate pudding looks really good. We’re on an anti-inflammatory diet too, and are finding that we still get delicious food and it’s really about making sensible food choices. Good luck with the other recipes and thanks for sharing :)